


The Guardians

by justanoutlaw



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Baby Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Life As We Know It Movie AU, Minor Character Death, Parent Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Parent Robin Hood (Once Upon A Time), Parents Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Robin Hood, Past Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-09-06 22:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16841452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/pseuds/justanoutlaw
Summary: Regina and Robin had a terrible blind date 6 years ago, swearing that nothing more would ever come from it. After their best friends die in a car accident, though, they are named guardians of their godson. Now these two have to figure out some way to get along.





	1. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the movie: Life As We Know It. It'll work as a one shot collection, more than a multi-chapter series, which means that prompts are encouraged. You can send me prompts or questions, along with sending the characters questions on my Tumblr (findingtallahassee) or Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic).

There are some words you never expect to hear in life and you don’t really know that you weren’t expecting them, until they happen.

Regina had been babysitting her godson when she received those such words. Henry had gone down easily, just as he always seemed to for her. She was eating the Chinese takeout she ordered, going through Emma and Neal’s DVR selections when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number and nearly didn’t pick up, but something in her told her to.

“Ms. Mills, this is Dr. Whale calling from Storybrooke General. You were the next of kin listed for Emma Swan-Cassidy.”

That got her attention almost immediately. Emma’s parents had died when she was young and she had spent most of her life in the foster care system. Until she met Regina and Neal in high school, she had been all alone. After seeing Lilo and Stitch, they had dubbed themselves “Ohana”. They were family, none of them were going to be left behind. Even after Emma and Neal began dating, Regina never felt like less of their friend.

“Is she alright?” Regina asked.

“I’m afraid she was in a car accident with her husband. Things are pretty critical right now.”

Regina knew better than to wake a sleeping baby, but she practically flew up the stairs and grabbed Henry before rushing out to the car. She bounced him lightly as she tried to figure out the car seat one handed. Eventually, it snapped into place and she settled him in, double checking the chest strap.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Regina promised. “We’re just going to check on Mommy and Daddy.”

Regina was torn between speeding and also knowing that Emma would kill her if she got into an accident with her kid. She was the town sheriff after all, car safety was in her blood. So how had she ended up in an accident? Regina tried not to picture the hunk of yellow metal that was their precious Volkswagen bug crushed to a heap. Whale had said that they were critical, but that things were looking up. There was hope.

Once she reached the hospital, Regina powered through the double doors, Henry still in her arms. He had lulled himself back to sleep, thank goodness. Regina came to a halt at the desk, not noticing that someone else had ran up at the same time.

“I got a call about Emma Swan-Cassidy,” she said at the same time the person next to her said “I’m here for Neal Cassidy.”

She looked over and realized that it was Robin Locksley. She stiffened a bit, adjusting the 10-month-old in her arms. Regina hadn’t seen Robin since the Christening, as it should’ve been. The two had a disastrous first date before Henry was born. Robin had attended community college with Neal and the two became best buds. For some reason, Emma and Neal assumed they’d be a perfect match, but they had absolutely zero in common. The entire night they argued over every little thing. Regina had made Emma vow to never have her be in the same room as him. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Robin had done the same with Neal.

So, naturally, Emma and Neal had made them maid of honor and best man, respectively at their wedding. Then they had both been named Henry’s godparents. Even so, Regina had sucked it up. Seeing him a couple of times a year at events for Henry would be fine for her. In that moment, none of that really mattered anyway. Emma was hurt and Regina had to focus on her.

“What are you doing here?” Robin asked.

“I’m Emma’s next of kin. What about you?”

“They couldn’t reach Neal’s dad, I was the next on the list.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you have Henry?”

“I was babysitting when I got the call.”

“So, you brought him to the hospital…”

“What would you have like to me do? Hm?” Regina arched an eyebrow, doing her best to keep her voice calm. “Leave him by himself?”

The nurse interrupted their conversation. “The doctor will be out in a minute to speak with you both.”

Regina swiftly walked away, cuddling Henry closer to her. She couldn’t help but notice Robin hovering and she wanted to snap again, but another part of her couldn’t blame him. In her arms was the one thing that Emma and Neal loved more than anything in the world. As much as Robina and Regina disagreed on everything, at least they shared love for that little boy.

“Do you know details about the accident?” She asked, her voice growing soft.

Robin shook his head. “Probably as much as you.”

“God, I just don’t get it. Emma was the master at car safety. Sure, that bug was a piece of junk, but she was always lecturing me about safe driving.”

“I guarantee you, it wasn’t on either of them.”

A tired looking doctor with blonde hair approached the two of them. “Are you here for Mr. and Mrs. Cassidy?”

Regina nodded. “Yes. What happened?”

“Going off the police report, someone ran a red light and collided with them. It was a hit and run, they’re still unsure of who did it but they’re on the lookout.”

Regina wrapped Henry’s blanket further around him out of protection, as though the person who hurt his parents would suddenly come out and hurt him. “Oh my God.”

“But…Emma and Neal?” Robin saying their names came out more of a question than anything. “Are they okay?”

Dr. Whale frowned. “I’m sorry to report that Mr. Cassidy died on impact. We did all we could with Mrs. Swan-Cassidy but she had lost too much blood. We had to pronounce her dead not long after arrival.”

Regina would’ve dropped Henry, had Robin not rushed to her side. Their first and only date hadn’t ended in so much as a kiss, but suddenly his arms were around her and he was holding her up right. Henry was awake and crying again, but Regina didn’t even notice. She held tightly to him with one arm, her other hand clutching to Robin’s shirt as she sobbed. It wasn’t until she felt her hair growing wet that she realized he was crying too.

* * *

The next few hours passed in a blur for Robin. He remembered driving Regina back to Emma and Neal’s, watching her tuck Henry back into bed. A part of him could recall dialing Logan Gold’s number so he could be made aware of his son’s passing. He assured him that Henry would be alright until his arrival to Storybrooke. Regina had arranged with CPS to let Henry stay with her, as she was what was most familiar.

He didn’t sleep. He sat next to Regina on the couch, both of them crying but not touching one another. Robin had only ever seen Regina cry once before and those were tears of joy the day Henry had been born. He had also never seen her so relaxed, normally she wore pantsuits or dresses. To babysit, she had been in comfy jeans and a Ramones t-shirt. Those were the things he’d remember. They didn’t say a word until the sun started to rise over the house and Henry’s cries could be heard from upstairs.

“I’ll get him,” Robin said groggily.

“I’ll start on breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Maybe not, but he needs to eat.” Regina pushed herself up and rubbed at her swollen eyes. “I’m also going to call Kathryn Gilda. She was a friend of Emma’s dad, their lawyer.”

“I didn’t even know they had a lawyer.”

“Only got one after Henry.”

Regina walked into the kitchen and Robin headed up the stairs. The home was cozy, inviting. Neal and Emma had always fantasized about living by the beach, and they were only a 5 minute walk. They talked about how they’d take Henry there and push him on the swings, they couldn’t wait to teach him how to swim. Their dream had always been to buy a vacation home in Florida, Tallahassee to specific, but it wasn’t about to come to fruition.

Robin went into the nursery and found Henry trying to pull himself up on the bars. He lifted him out, taking in the room. It was car themed, license plates from every state that Neal had traveled to-almost had all 50, only Hawaii and Texas remained. The sheets were yellow, the walls a light grey. That had been Emma’s doing, the color scheme picked out long before they found out they were having a boy.

Looking down at Henry, he could instantly see the bits of Emma and Neal in there. He had green eyes like his mom. He didn’t have much hair yet, but wisps of brown like his dad were evident. He even had Neal’s smile, minus the teeth. God, how had he never noticed just how much this little boy resembled his parents?

“Hey bub,” he whispered. “I know all of this is confusing, but we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

Robin got Henry ready, changing his diaper and putting him in what appeared to be the easiest thing to change him in and out of. He wondered if Mr. Gold would bring him to visit. Losing Neal would be hard enough, but Henry being all the way out in Scotland would be a lot harder.

Despite him and Regina not getting along, they managed to get through the morning okay. Neither said what was on their mind, they just went through the motions. Regina didn’t eat and neither did he, but Henry did a good job of getting down his oatmeal. They half-heartedly played with him, trying to keep their spirits up for his sake. By the time they put him down for his morning nap, Kathryn had arrived.

“So, I spoke with Logan Gold again this morning,” Robin said. “He’s asked us to put together the funeral arrangements, but he’ll be here in time for that.”

“I’m assuming it’d be okay if I looked after Henry in the meantime?” Regina asked.

Kathryn tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I figured that Mr. Gold would be taking Henry with him back to Scotland.”

Kathryn’s mouth opened, then closed again. Finally after a few moments, she found her words. “Did Emma and Neal discuss with you the plans they had for Henry in the event of their death?”

Regina looked over at Robin, who shook his head. She glanced back at Kathryn. “No.”

“Well, they named both of you.”

“Both of us?” Regina asked right away.

“Yes.”

Robin and Regina looked between one another, shocked. Neal had never brought this up, ever. Neither had Emma for that matter. There had been a few times where they started talking about death, but Robin always shrugged that off. Death made him uncomfortable, as it did most people. He had lost both of his parents by the time he was 18. That didn’t mean that they couldn’t have just come out and said it, though.

He barely knew Regina. They had been one date, one. Outside that, all of their conversations had revolved around Neal, Emma and Henry. They spoke politely, just barely, at gatherings for their friends. They posed for pictures, but that was it. If he had been told that Emma and Neal had left Henry to just him, he would find a way to handle it. He loved the kid. But raising a baby with Regina? How did they expect him to do that? She hated his guts.

“I’m sure this isn’t how you two pictured starting a family,” Kathryn continued when neither of them spoke.

“There has to have been a misunderstanding,” Regina said. “We’re not married.”

“They tried setting us up once,” Robin clarified. “But it didn’t take. We barely even know each other…”

Kathryn held up a hand as if to tell him to shut up. “I understand all of this. When they told me that you two weren’t so much as dating, I tried to advise them to go with someone else but they insisted.”

“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t Neal want his son to go with Logan?”

“Neal’s father is disabled. He’s not incapable of caring for Henry. As I recall, he said he’d hire a nanny and send him to the best schools.” She folded her hands. “But it’s not what they wanted. Neal wanted his son to have hands on parents, ones that were there for him. While Mr. Gold is now married and is very happy with his new wife, Neal and Emma just didn’t feel they’d raise him the way they wanted.”

“Are Belle and Mr. Gold aware of this?” Regina asked.

“They are. I advised them to talk this over with family, so there would be no issue with the will being contested. They told me that Mr. and Mrs. Gold understood.”

Robin had a hard time believing that Logan Gold would take such a thing well, but also didn’t doubt that Neal would lie about him being okay with it. Belle had seemed to soften his best friend’s father, the last Robin had seen. Maybe he was willing to do what was best for Henry.

Was that really Robin and Regina raising him, though? And if Neal could discuss this with his father, why not the two of them?  


“You two could say no,” Kathryn continued. “While Neal and Emma did not want Henry moving to Scotland, they didn’t forbid it either. The two of you were their first choice. This is a big responsibility and I’m sure you’re aware of that. You two would have to live here, under one roof, raising this child together. It’s not impossible, but it’s not for everyone.”

“What if…only one of us wanted to do it?” Regina spoke up. “Would that…be okay?”

Robin shot her a look. “Why do you assume only you would want to do it?”

“Well, I didn’t see you volunteering.”

“It’s a lot to take in at once. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

“Well, I’m not backing down from Henry just because you want him too.”

“I didn’t ask you too.”

“So, you want us both to do this?”

“You’re not exactly my top pick to raise a kid with, but I’m saying we can work it out. For Henry’s sake.”

Regina stared at him for a moment, before looking back at Kathryn.

“We’d both have to live here together?” She asked.

“For now. The life insurance policies would cover the mortgage, but outside that they didn’t have a lot of savings. I don’t think that Emma and Neal expected you to live here, together, full time, but just enough to adapt Henry to the situation. He’s young, but not young enough that he wasn’t aware who his parents are. In time, if you two so desired, you could start splitting custody and move out. If you really have his best interest at heart, this would be my suggestion.”

Robin and Regina were silent for a bit longer. It was clear that if they had a choice, neither would wish to be put in such a situation. Yet, there they were. Neal and Emma had left Henry to them. They would have to figure it out…together.

“How soon could we file for guardianship?” Regina asked, softly.

“The sooner the better. I can get you both as his temporary guardians as soon as tomorrow, in six months-time, if all goes well, you’ll be able to adopt.”

Just like that, Robin Locksley had become a father. When he pictured this moment, he saw himself married, getting a newborn. He saw himself in love.

He definitely didn’t see himself going into it with a woman that hated every fiber of his being.


	2. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Regina discuss how they're going to handle their new situation.

Regina sat with Henry on her lap, trying to get him to not pull out all her hair. Robin was across from her, shifting from foot to foot. Kathryn had left an hour prior and they hadn’t said more than two words to each other since.

“So, we have to figure this out,” she said. “Do you really want to do this with me?”

“It’s what Neal wanted.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Look, I want to take care of Henry, of course I do. He’s my godson and I love him to bits. This isn’t exactly how I saw my life turning out but I’ll do it. It’s just…”

“You don’t want to do it with me.”

“Well, do you want to do it with me?”

“You’re not my first choice, no.”

Robin rolled his eyes. “You do want him though, don’t you?”

Regina looked down into those big green eyes, feeling her heart turn to putty once more. “Yes.”

“So, we’ll have to figure out how to do this, together.”

Regina sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She thought back to 6 years prior, on the night she had decided she didn’t want to see Robin Locksley anymore than she had to. The date had started off innocent enough. He picked her up at her apartment and they went to a restaurant, lowkey. They didn’t have much in common, but Regina liked that in a date. Dating someone who was too much like you could lead to a boatload of problems.

Then his phone started blowing up and he spent the rest of the evening texting. Whenever she tried to ask what was wrong, he kept blowing her off. She started making flip comments and it was clear he was getting aggravated. It all ended in a huge fight in front of the restaurant and her taking a cab back to her apartment. Neal and Emma tried to convince her to talk to Robin about why he had acted the way he had, but Regina didn’t see the need to. During their fight, he had called her stuck up and pretentious. She kept throwing in jabs about his truck, which apparently was a step too far in his mind.

As the years went on and they were forced to see each other over and over again, sometimes she would wonder why she just couldn’t forgive him. After all, she had forgiven others for so much worse. Robin was just one person she couldn’t shake. Emma always thought that was a sign.

_“The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. If you hate him, it means you still care.”_

Regina rolled her eyes at that each and every time. She didn’t care about Robin Locksley. He could get hit by a truck and she’d have no opinion either way. They were just those people, ones that would never get along.

Yet for some reason, Neal and Emma thought it’d be a good idea to name them guardians of this child.

“We should live here, like Kathryn suggested, at least for a little while,” Regina said, finally. “Get him adjusted to us as the new people in his life. She said the mortgage was covered and I can pay the bills outside of that.”

“I can help.”

Regina nodded, not wanting to argue with him. “There’s the matter of child care. I know Emma and Neal have him in daycare, but sometimes I have clients after it closes. When you’re in town, you can pick him up on those days.”

“What do you mean when I’m in town?”

“Aren’t you a soccer player?”

Robin averted his glance. “I was. I hurt my knee a few years ago and had to quit.”

“Oh. So um…”

“I’m a gym teacher now,” he interrupted. “But I do coach soccer after school, 3 days a week. So, we might have to get a sitter or someone to help out on the days our schedules overlap.”

Regina nodded. She wanted to pry some more, but she could tell that it was a touchy subject. “Alright. I think Emma and Neal had a backup sitter for when I was too busy.”

“I also have games most Saturdays in the winter and spring, but they’re typically in the morning.”

“That’s fine, I rarely see clients on the weekends anyway.”

“We can come up with a calendar, make sure we both have our nights out as well.”

Regina looked down at Henry, unable to imagine that she’d be in the mood for dating anytime soon. Even so, she found herself saying, “Okay.”

Robin took in her face. “Not that I’m seeing anyone right now, but…it’s just important to balance both.”

“I’m a psychologist, Robin. I’m well aware.”

He sighed, tilting his head back and rubbing his eyes. “We need to figure out a way to not fight all the time. Could you maybe, for the next few days, just pretend like you don’t hate me? I just lost my best friend, you lost yours. They’ve both left us their kid. Think we could focus on that?”

This was the most direct to the point that Regina had ever seen Robin. Even during their argument, he had been jokey, getting in sarcastic jabs every so often. In that moment, however, she could see how tired he was along with the sadness. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since the night before, but she realized that’s she probably looked the same. Emma and Neal had been her best friends for as long as she could remember. In the span of just a few hours, they were gone. Rather than focusing on her grief, she had a baby in her lap that needed all of her attention and a man across from her going through the exact same pain.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I think we can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts or questions for this verse, whether on here or my Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic). :)


	3. Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin's side of the story about what happened on his and Regina's blind date 6 years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Mentions of miscarriage and alcoholism.

Robin detested funerals. He hadn’t been to many, but once a person loses a parent, they take on a whole new meaning. He could still smell the overpowering floral perfume from one of the mourners from his dad’s funeral. Robin was only 7 at the time, but he could remember seeing a lot of people crying a lot harder than his mother was. Carol was good about that, keeping her emotions intact. Robin could remember the old man from down the street, squeezing his shoulder and saying “You’re the man of the house now.” His mother immediately told him to disregard that.

His mother’s funeral had been a lot quieter. He had been 17 when she died and any family they had left was overseas, unable to make it. With the little life insurance money his mom had left behind, he spread her ashes at her favorite park and let it be. The only person who had stuck by his side through all of it was Marian.

As Robin dressed Henry for the funeral, he couldn’t help but think of the child that would’ve been. She would’ve been 10 years old that year and he constantly wondered what she would’ve been like. Would she have had his eyes or Marian’s? Would his and Marian’s relationship really have lasted?

At least Marian seemed to be doing better. They were on better terms and the last time they talked, she said that she was married and had adopted a child with her wife, a little boy they named Roland. Neither of them brought up the baby they had a lost. Robin never spoke of her, the only person he ever told was Neal and he knew that he told Emma.

Robin thought back to the night he had brought Regina on a date. He was so excited, a chance to move on. A chance to be happy again. Then halfway through dinner, Marian had started texting him. She was drunk, again. She kept asking for him to come over, to help her. Robin kept pointing out that she needed help and that he couldn’t be the one to always bail her out. He had been so wrapped up in trying to not be wrapped up in his ex-wife, that by the time he noticed how pissed Regina was, it was too late. One thing lead to another and soon, they were having a volatile argument outside the restaurant.

Neal tried to convince him to explain what happened, but Robin knew it was pointless. Regina wouldn’t want anything further to do with him. He had tried to apologize over the years, but she always walked away. He knew he couldn’t blame her, but this wasn’t a wedding shower or Henry’s baptism. They were going to be raising this child, for better or worse.

First Robin had lost his child, then his wife followed by his career. Now he was a gym teacher/soccer coach, raising a baby that wasn’t his with a woman who thought he was a jerk.

What had Neal been thinking?

The knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up to find Regina standing there, wearing a little black dress and matching heels. The only bit of color were a strand of pearls that hung around her neck. Henry lit up when he saw her, just as he always did. Robin had tried to be there for him those first 10 months, but he had been busy. Now, he was trying to connect with this child, but it wasn’t easy when she kept taking Henry from him.

“Are you ready?” She asked, softly.

No, he wasn’t ready to bury his best friend and his best friend’s wife. He was never going to be ready for that. But by the look in Regina’s eyes, neither was she. He kept reminding himself that Regina had known them for far longer than he had. Even before Neal set them up on a date, he went on and on about Regina. A psychology major with a wicked sense of sarcasm, one who rarely ever cried. In that moment, she looked so vulnerable and he almost wanted to hug her again, then thought better of it.

“As I’ll ever be.” Robin lifted Henry into his arms and pressed a kiss to the baby’s temple. “Mr. Gold is going to meet us at the church with Belle.”

Regina shook her head. “I don’t understand how a parent could go on after losing a child.”

Robin didn’t respond, he just squeezed her arm before grabbing the diaper bag and walking out of the nursery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: We meet Cora. Always so much fun.
> 
> Have prompts, questions or concerns? You can send them to me on my Tumblr (findingtallahassee) or Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic).


	4. Motherhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora gives her two cents about Regina and Robin's situation.

The funeral went as well as one could go. Regina stood to talk about Emma, while Mr. Gold somehow made it through his speech about Neal. He held Henry for the rest of the service, but whenever Regina or Robin tried to talk to him about custody, he shut down. All he had to say was that his son made his choice and that he wasn’t in any state to care for Henry. Getting a good look at his much younger wife as they headed to the cemetery, Regina suddenly realized that she had a small baby bump. Him not contesting the will suddenly made a lot more sense.

After the cemetery, they all headed back to Emma and Neal’s. Regina realized she had to start considering there home, not that she had time to move yet. Mal promised she would lend a hand and clear out her old place, along with helping her put it on the market. Even if things with Robin didn’t work out, Regina wanted to stay in the home Henry had been raised in. It was what his parents had wanted.

There was a long line of shaking hands and nodding along to people she barely recognized. Emma and Neal didn’t have a lot of friends, but everyone had shown up to pay their respects. Regina was grateful when she heard the cries from Henry’s baby monitor, signaling that he had woken up. She retrieved him and brought him into the kitchen so he could get something to eat. He was so little, but it was almost as if he knew in a way. His sweaty palms clutched her dress as she bopped around the kitchen, which was covered with casserole dishes and pie plates.

“It was a beautiful service.”

Regina did her best not to cringe at her mother’s voice. She hadn’t expected Cora to come, she lived in Boston and only visited once or twice a year. Even so, she had shown up to the church and followed back to the house. Regina couldn’t even remember calling her mom and then realized that her sister must have.

Zelena was tied up in California, unable to make it. As bad as it was, Regina had been happy about that. She loved her sister, but she could be a bit much and had a tendency to make things all about her. Cora was a whole other can of worms, she hadn’t ever even liked Emma. She came from a poorer family and was always rebellious. Even Neal, the son of a doctor, wasn’t good enough company in Cora’s eyes considering that he also wasn’t the perfect son. It was her father who had supported the friendship and told Regina to ignore her mother. Emma and Neal hadn’t named Henry after him, rather after the latter’s favorite author. Still, it was nice to have another Henry in her life after losing her father.

“It was,” Regina replied finally, settling Henry into his high chair.

“Those anecdotes about Emma weren’t the most appropriate for a church, but they’re fond memories of yours clearly.”

Regina bit her tongue. Her mother acted like she told the story of the time they went skinny dipping during spring break. She had simply recounted the story of Emma convincing her to sneak into a rated R movie when they were 15. It was a miracle that she had held it together at all, but her mother’s presence in the audience made her more determined to do so.

“Anyway, I spoke with Kathryn Gilda. She told me that you’re going to be tending to Henry now.”

Regina nodded, holding up a spoonful of pureed turkey for Henry, though he only moved his mouth “Yes, Mother. I was going to talk to you about it.”

“Are you sure that’s wise? You’re not getting any younger Regina and you’ll be hard pressed to find a man that wants anything to do with a woman with a child, especially one that’s not hers.”

She stiffened a bit, dipping the spoon in the glass jar once again. “I’m not really concerned with men right now.”

“If you had simply gone through with your commitments…”

Regina almost gave a glib remark about her ex-fiancé, but then thought better of it. Cora would never believe the type of man Leopold was and there was no sense in trying to convince her.

“Mother, this is how my life is now. It’s me, Henry…” She trailed off, realizing that she probably shouldn’t keep the last part a secret for long. There was a good chance that Kathryn had already told her. “And Robin.”

Cora arched an eyebrow. “Robin?”

“You’ve met him, the man I was standing with at the church. He was Neal’s best friend. They…they listed both of us as guardians over Henry.”

“This Robin…he wants to raise Henry with you?”

“Yes.”

“How well do you know him?”

Regina opted to not include the disaster date from six years back. “Enough. I’ve seen him at events with Emma and Neal for about six years or so at this point. He was the best man at their wedding and he’s Henry’s godfather.”

“So, how is that going to work? You’ll split custody? Like your sister and her ex?”

Regina sighed, giving up on feeding Henry at the moment. This wasn’t going to be easy to explain to her ultraconservative mother, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She placed the spoon down and turned to face her fully.

“We’re going to be living here, for now. I’m going to sleep in one guest bedroom, Robin’s getting the finished attic.”

“You’re not together.”

Regina sighed, feeling a patented Cora Mills rant coming on. “I’m aware, Mother.”

“This whole thing is a recipe for disaster,” Cora took a step forward. “It was bad enough you doing this alone, but with a man you’re not even dating? You’re respected in this town Regina and you know as well as I that people talk.”

“Let them. This is what’s best for Henry. All studies show that after an event like this…”

Cora cut her off with an eye roll. “Yes, your “head medicine”…” she said, patronizingly, using air quotes. She had wanted her daughter to become a doctor and couldn’t believe that she had chosen psychology. People in their circle didn’t get therapy, which was exactly the reason why Regina entered the filed in the first place.

“I know you don’t approve, Mother,” Regina cut in, ignoring her mother’s eyes widening as she did. “It doesn’t matter. This is what Robin and I will be doing, for Henry’s sake. It’s not the perfect situation, but it’s what needs to be done. This little boy has lost his parents. The two people that loved him more than anything and they left him to us. Was it the best idea? I don’t know, but it’s what we’re doing. I want Henry. I want to do right by him.”

She heard the sound of glass shattering and turned to find the baby food all over the floor, Henry sitting there beaming proudly. Regina didn’t have to look back to hear her mother click her tongue.

“Welcome to motherhood, Regina,” she said. “I just hope you come to your senses soon.”

Regina listened to her heels click out of the room before she grabbed a broom. She swept up the glass and then wet some towels to clean up the food. It wasn’t until she was halfway done, that she allowed herself to cry her first tears of the day.

Cora had always been an expert at figuring out Regina’s worst fears. Most mothers would try to comfort their children and tell them that they would persevere. Cora Mills wasn’t most mothers and Regina constantly had to be reminded of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have prompts, questions or concerns? You can send them to me on my Tumblr (findingtallahassee) or Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic).


	5. A House Is Not A Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin moves into Neal and Emma's home with the help of Merida. She has more to offer than decorating tips.

Robin had never had a place he considered a home. With funds tight, he and his mom bounced from apartment to apartment. Even after he married Marian, he spent so much time playing soccer that he was barely ever there. They had a house, but he lived out of his suitcase throughout most of their marriage. She did too, since she tended to follow him. Marian was a freelance journalist and could do her work anywhere. They slept in hotels, ate their continental breakfasts, having dinners with his teammates and their wives or with different connections she made.

So, moving out of his apartment and into the Swan-Cassidy household should’ve been an easy task. He downsized majorly after he hurt his knee and got his teaching certificate so he could work at the local high school, meaning there wasn’t much to bring. Marian had gotten a lot of the big stuff in the divorce anyhow. Despite that, it was still weird to unpack in the alcove.

He and Regina had gone over the sleeping arrangements pretty quickly. The home was a three bedroom, but one of those included Emma and Neal’s. There was no way that either of them would feel comfortable sleeping in the same room that their best friends once shared. It wasn’t even about the sex aspect. It was unspoken, but even Robin knew that Regina felt the same way as him in that sense.

This was the house that their friends had bought together, they had planned to spend forever there. Emma was never the interior design person, but she poured everything into that house, especially the bedroom. The walls were bright yellow, while the linen was black. There were pictures everywhere, ones of Emma’s deceased parents, along with a few of Neal’s dad. Most of all, it was practically a shrine to Henry. Emma had posted many a picture of Neal cuddled up with their son in that very bed, reading him stories or giving him tiny kisses.

Living in the house was going to be hard enough, they couldn’t bring themselves to open the door to the bedroom. They weren’t there to take their place, right? That was a whole other debate within itself.

In the end, he had offered to take the alcove. The pullout couch wouldn’t be the most comfortable but he’d let Regina have the real bed. She had tried to put up a faux protest, but had given in much faster than she had if it had been anyone else.

“You could customize the space,” his friend and colleague, Merida, said. “Put up pictures.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that.”

“It’s your house now. Well, yours and Regina’s.” Merida peeked around the corner. “Speaking of which, is she…”

“Single, yes. Probably straight, though.”

Merida sighed, folding her arms over her chest. “Why is it always the way?”

Robin laughed, shaking his head. He had met Merida when he started working at the high school. She was a history teacher, who also taught the archery club after school. Robin had done the sport in high school and it was nice to find someone to do it with in his spare time. She was one of the only few people he trusted with his secret about Marian and the baby. Like Neal, she also felt he should tell Regina. He knew at one point he’d have to, but he just wasn’t ready yet.

“You’ll find someone.”

“When? Between grading tests, parent teacher conferences and the archery club, I’m too busy.”

“Yeah, I feel you there.” He looked down at Henry, who was chewing on a strawberry shaped teether. “I have a feeling a good chunk of my dating life just went out the window.”

“Are you sure you can handle this? I mean, after everything you’ve been through…”

“It’s what Neal wanted,” Robin interrupted. His eyes didn’t move from the baby. “It’s not like it doesn’t bring back memories, but I know that this is different. He’s not going anywhere and I’m not…his…well…”

“You’re going to be raising him for the rest of his life. Are you really going to make him call you uncle Robin for all of that?”

Robin swallowed, hard. He really needed to give that some more thought.

“I know it’s hard for you to talk about Luna, but maybe it’s time you talk to Regina about it.”

“Mer…”

“You two are going to be co-parenting this child. You can’t do it as enemies. You need to do it as friends.”

“I don’t think she even wants to be that.”

“How do you know until you try. Besides,” Merida gestured down to Henry. “Isn’t that little cutie worth it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have prompts, questions or concerns? You can send them to me on my Tumblr (findingtallahassee) or Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic).


	6. What Happened?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin tells Regina what happened the night of their blind date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of alcoholism and infant death in this chapter.

Regina had to admit, it was a lot harder to hate Robin now that they were living under one roof. Before Neal and Emma died, they were equal opportunity jerks to one another. They’d give jabs as good as they got, sometimes it’d raise to bickering but never more. Regina never felt guilty about it because they could still be in the same room when the time called for it and it wasn’t like he didn’t give what he put out.

Since they moved in together, though, he was tame. He did his fair share with Henry and the housework. He stuck to the schedule they had created to give them both a little free time. Once, Regina had even needed him to take Henry last minute when she had an emergency with one of her patients and he had been more than happy to oblige. She had been expecting at least a little fight, but there wasn’t so much as an exaggerated eye roll.

Regina definitely came off looking like the asshole and she didn’t like it. She realized that she had spent so long hating him, for one bad date. Since then, he hadn’t done anything to make her life more challenging. He was adjusting to their situation and trying to be civil. Regina was the one that couldn’t cope.

So, she did her best to play nice. She was naturally sarcastic, she got that from her mother’s side, but their jabs were more playful than anything. Regina even found herself smiling around him some days. One night, they even gave Henry a bath together.

After he was tucked into bed, Regina decided to broach a subject she hadn’t wanted to discuss with him when she wasn’t sure where they were as co-parents. Now, it just felt wrong to leave him out of it.

“Henry’s birthday is in a month,” she said.

Robin blinked a couple of times, obviously caught a bit off guard. She couldn’t blame him. That meant that it had been a whole month since Emma and Neal died. One month since they had begun their co-parenting. Between taking turns with a fussy baby-Henry had reverted from sleeping through the night since the accident-and work, time had really flown by.

“It’s not that I forgot, just…”

“With everything going on, I haven’t had time to think about it myself.” Regina bit her lip. “Emma had been planning this backyard thing. Neal was hiring a bouncy castle, they were going to have Granny’s Diner cater. Emma had told me about it, but I forgot until the landline got a call today about the castle.” She paused for a moment. “I told them to go ahead with it. I hope that’s okay.”

“Henry should have a good first birthday, even if we’re still adjusting to this whole parenting thing.”

“Great. I’ll drop off the invitations tomorrow.”

“Let me guess, Emma had those all worked out too?”

“She wasn’t very organized except for when it came to him.”

“Neal was the same way.”

An awkward silence filled them. They didn’t talk about much outside Henry, especially not about the friends they lost. As a psychologist, Regina knew that was bad. Out of everyone, they were the only ones that knew how the other felt. They had lost two people in their lives that had been their family. Neither had much in the way biological wise. Robin’s parents were dead and Regina wasn’t close to her mother and sister. Cora hadn’t even called Regina since the funeral. They had lost two members of their chosen family and it hurt, more than they could ever describe.

Regina chose not to say anything about that, instead she brought up the question that she had in her mind for the past 6 years. “Why were you so weird on our date?”

Robin laughed, shaking his head. “Seriously?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently. You’ve been so great and I’ve been well, a jerk to put it kindly.” She folded her arms over her chest. “For the best interest of Henry, we have to move forward and try to get along better.”

“Is that your psych speech?”

“If it was my psych speech, you’d pay me by the hour.”

“Touché.”

Regina gave him a look as if to say go on and Robin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He gestured for her to sit on the couch and followed suit once she did.

“You know I was married before, right? To Marian?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, during our marriage, we found out we were having a baby. A little girl. We were so excited.”

“You have a child?”

“We _had_ a child,” Robin corrected. “When Marian was about 20 weeks, we went in for a scan and found out that the baby didn’t have a brain.’

Regina felt her stomach drop and suddenly she felt guilty for bringing this up. “Robin…”

“Please, let me continue. They gave us a choice. Carry to term or deliver, either way it wouldn’t matter because she wouldn’t live longer than a few hours.”

Regina’s hand flew over her mouth and Robin looked as though he wanted to break, but he pressed on.

“Anyway,” he waved off the emotion on his face. “After that, things were hard. Marian and I didn’t have the best of marriages to begin with. We loved each other sure, but there was always something missing. I had to go on the road for work after that and the more I called Marian, the more times she’d answer drunk. She swore she never had a problem. Eventually, things just got too had and we agreed it’d be best to divorce. Still, we remained friends. We were the only ones that knew what it was like to go through what we did.”

“Of course,” Regina whispered.

“So, Marian would still call me every so often, drunk off her ass. I tried to get her help, as did our other friends and her family. We couldn’t convince her. The night we went out…it was our daughter’s birthday.”

“Oh my God.”

“I was fine, I don’t like being alone on it, so I figured our date would be a good way to take my mind off of it. Marian chose to get drunk and she was the one that was blowing up my phone that night.”

Regina frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“Because it’s a long, personal story and not exactly first date material. I thought if you knew my ex was still so close to me, it’d be a turn off. Would it have been?”

Regina squirmed a bit in her seat. “Well…I don’t know.”

That was honest. Leopold had been obsessed with his dead wife, but that was a bit different. She had never been int hat situation before. A part of her wanted to think she’d be okay with it, but the other knew she’d probably want to wait to be in a relationship with Robin until Marian wasn’t so dependent on him.

Robin nodded, as if to say he had made his point. “Besides, after that you and I blew up about something else all-together. Neal tried to tell me to tell you after, but I just didn’t see the point. Even if I did, we both said some pretty dumb things that night.”

Regina winced at the memory. “Yeah, we did.” There was another moment of silence between the two of them. “Is Marian better now?”

“Yes. After that night, I got firm with her. It took some time, but she finally got some help. She’s been sober 5 years now. Remarried, with a kid of her own.”

“That’s great.”

“It is.”

“Given what you’ve gone through…I’m really surprised you agreed to take on Henry with me,”

“It wasn’t easy, but I realized that he needed me and maybe I needed him too.”

“He adores you, Robin. His eyes light up whenever you walk into a room.”

“They do not.”

“They do.”

Robin softly smiled. “He’s pretty amazing.”

Regina’s eyes flickered to the family portrait of Emma, Neal and Henry on the wall. It had been taken when he was just a few weeks old. They were both smiling down at their son as if he hung the moon. God, they had loved him so much.  


“What are we going to tell him one day? About them?”

“That they loved him and yet were crazy enough to leave him to us.”

Regina rolled her eyes. Their sappy moment was truly over. “I’m serious.”

“I don’t know. You’re the child psychologist. What would you tell yourself if you were a patient?”

“To be honest. To talk about them, but not be obsessive so he wouldn’t think that we didn’t want him.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Regina looked back at the photo. She realized in that moment, that she and Robin shared something else. Given his own past and the loss of his daughter, he had admitted it had been hard to take on Henry. It had been for Regina too. Not the day to day aspect, but the fact that she was going to be his mother. She couldn’t just be “Aunt Regina”, no, she was now his mom. She was taking Emma’s place. He’d never remember his biological parents, just Regina and Robin.

How was that at all fair?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have prompts, questions or concerns? You can send them to me on my Tumblr (findingtallahassee) or Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic).


	7. 1st Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina struggles with her place in Henry's life. Robin has a plan to help.

Regina stood in the backyard, watching Mal supervise Lily with Henry. She was surprised by just how many people showed up to celebrate his first birthday. Outside Emma, Mal and Lily were all she really had that lived in town. Most of her other friends were still behind in Boston, a place she hadn’t visited since she left Leo. From what she could tell, Robin was a loner too. He had Merida and Will, but that was it. Regina had gone through Emma’s contacts and invited Henry’s friends from daycare, along with the neighbors. Everyone had RSVP’d yes. She wasn’t sure if that was normal or if they all felt bad, but it didn’t matter. Henry was giggling and having lots of fun.

It didn’t change that Regina still felt a bit left out. She was still trying to figure out her place and to feel like she deserved to be there. Henry was her responsibility now, but it came at a price. There were times she would forget about any of it. He’d be smiling at her or he’d stop crying when she picked him up from his crib in the morning. It’d melt her heart and for a split second, she’d forget why she was there.

Then she’d walk out into the hallway and was greeted by the family portrait of him, Emma and Neal. It all hit her like a ton of bricks and she wanted to break down crying all over again.

“Regina.” She turned to find their next-door neighbor, Cecelia, standing there. She was one of the nicer ones, that didn’t seem totally fake. She had a daughter that was a few months older than Henry named Jacinda. “Some of the older kids are asking about cake.”

“I’ll go get it.”

Regina headed inside, opening the fridge and pulling out the cake Eugena Lucas had made, along with Henry’s smaller smash one. Both were red, with pictures of knights and princes. Robin appeared by her side, taking the larger cake from her.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

“You alright?”

Regina sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Since he opened up to her, their relationship had drastically improved. She’d go far as saying they were actually friendly, if not friends. It had only taken 6 years, give or take a few months.

“I just feel like this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Robin’s eyebrows knitted together. “It’s time for cake.”

She rolled her eyes. “I mean in general at this party. I’m supposed to be the godmother that got him the loud toy that Emma and Neal would want to kill me for. Not the…”

“Mom?” Regina looked up at him and he gave her a sympathetic look. “I get it, I feel the same way.”

“I know this is our place now. We’re his…parents. We’re going to be raising him for the next 18 plus years. He’s our responsibility and yet, I still struggle feeling like I’m not overstepping.”

Robin looked past her, at the bulletin board covered with pictures of Emma, Neal and Henry. Neal had been a shutter bug, even before Henry was born. He wanted to document every moment of their lives. Emma had claimed to hate it, but since her parents died in a fire, she didn’t have much of them. The entire house was covered with evidence of a life meant for them. Not one for Robin, Regina and Henry.

“Maybe it’s because this place is a shrine to them,” Robin pointed out. Regina looked at him oddly and he held up a hand. “I know this was their home and I’m not saying we get rid of all the pictures, I’m just saying that we start making this house represent the family that’s here now. Henry, me and you.”

Regina bit her lip. “You really consider us a family?”

“I couldn’t have gotten through these past couple of months without you.”

“Yeah. Surprisingly…I don’t think I could’ve without you either.”

“Oh please, you would’ve been fine.”

“You’ve sort of grown on me.”

Robin grinned, putting an arm around her. “We’ve been taking pictures of Henry and each other with him…but how about we go take our first family picture?”

Regina let out a content sigh. “I’d like that.”

Once outside, Robin passed the camera off to Mal. Regina settled Henry into his decorated high chair and they gathered on either side of it. She lit the candle in the center of his cake, singing along with everyone else. Together, Regina and Robin helped him blow it out.

“Alright, one nice shot,” Mal instructed. “Smile.”

Regina guided Henry so he was looking at the camera to (with the help of his lovey of course). She and Robin smiled, even long after they heard the click to signal the picture had been taken. It’d be one they’d blow up and frame. The portrait of the Swan-Cassidy family was tucked into a special place for Henry, with the one of the Locksley-Mills taking its place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts or questions for this verse, whether on here or my Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic). :)


	8. Replaced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry says his first word.

It was Robin’s idea to make the home feel more like his and Regina’s, and it seemed easy at first. They sold old furniture and got new pieces, they hung up pictures of themselves with Henry around the house. The one room that remained untouched was Neal and Emma’s, neither had the courage to go in there. Outside that, Robin thought that it would help Regina and so far, it did. She seemed more relaxed, like she felt she belonged and it even helped Robin…for a little while.

The incident happened a couple of weeks after Henry’s first birthday. It was Regina’s night to be a free adult, so Robin was at home with Henry, getting him ready for bed. The bigger he got, the more expressive he was. The one thing he loved, was bath time. Robin had read that some kids his age wouldn’t, but he loved being in the water and playing with his toys, getting to splash around. It made Robin smile as he watched him. Despite the turmoil that he and Regina had been battling since Neal and Emma died, it was like Henry hadn’t picked up on any of it. He had regressed a bit when it came to sleeping, but outside that, he was the same happy baby that he had always been. If anything, that helped Robin and Regina know that they were doing something right.

After the bath, Robin wrapped Henry up in a towel and brought him into the nursery, getting him into his pajamas. Henry wiggled a bit, clearly trying to express that he wasn’t too sleepy yet.

“Don’t worry buddy, we’re gonna read some books.”

Henry babbled in response and Robin smiled. Henry hadn’t really said any real words yet, but he was clearly trying to. Regina had made Robin promise if she missed it, that he’d immediately write it down in the baby book.

Robin settled into the rocking chair and began reading a few books to Henry, watching the little boy get gradually tired as time went on. The end of the last book had a mirror and Robin adjusted it so they could both look at each other.

“Who’s that?” He asked, pointing at Henry. “Who’s that? Is that Henry?”

Henry gave a tiny smile before pointing to himself in the mirror and then pointing to Robin. “Dada.”

Robin blinked a couple of times, unsure if he heard him correctly. “Buddy…I’m Robin.”

“Dada,” Henry repeated, pointing once again at the man holding him. “Dada. Dada.”

Robin swallowed quickly, shutting the book and putting it back on the shelf. He kissed the top of Henry’s head and carried him to the crib, settling him down inside. He stood over it for a minute, watching as Henry quickly drifted off to sleep, dread filling him.

He hadn’t thought about what Henry was going to call him and suddenly, he felt so stupid for that.

Robin loved Henry with everything inside of him. He and Regina were working on adopting him, to make sure that no one could take Henry away from them in the future and so it’d be permanent. They would be raising him for the rest of his life. It made sense that they would be “Mom and Dad”. It would be completely unfair to tell him that they loved him enough to raise him, to be his parents…but to not actually be called that. Especially when he wouldn’t even remember Emma and Neal.

That hit Robin like a freight train. Neal had been an amazing father. He was excited from the minute Emma found out she was pregnant. While Emma had been hesitant about kids, Neal had always wanted them. He decorated Henry’s nursery almost as soon as they found out the sex of the baby, bought a state-of-the-art video camera along with a polaroid so he could capture every possible moment. Robin had been there the day Henry was born and watched Neal cradle him, not even looking up when someone would speak. He took 8 weeks off of work to help Emma and Robin knew that Henry came first, always. It wasn’t fair that now his son was calling another man dad. It wasn’t fair that Robin was taking his place.

Robin felt the tears come to his eyes as he remembered meeting Neal. They had been in college and Robin was still trying to get signed to a soccer team. Neal had been his biggest supporter. They spent many nights together, in bars or in Neal’s dorm. Neal would come to his games and Robin would model for him as needed. Before that, Robin had never really had a best friend. He had been popular in high school, but there had never been really anyone who took the time to get to know him. Not like Neal anyway.

Neal had been there when Robin and Marian lost their daughter. Now, Robin was there when Neal’s son had lost his father. It still didn’t seem fair. He hadn’t earned the title of “Dad”. It had been thrusted upon him, because his best friend had been in a car accident. If that night had even gone a little differently, he wouldn’t be in the position he was.

But the fact was, the night hadn’t. He was in charge of Henry now, alongside Regina. He would be the one who took him to the first day of school. Robin would teach him how to ride a bike and eventually, a car. Henry would come to Robin when it came to advice when asking out his first date. Robin would be there, helping Henry move into his college dorm, making sure Regina’s tears didn’t smudge Henry’s suit on his wedding day.

Robin was Henry’s dad and preventing him from calling him that, wouldn’t be right. What would that do to Henry? To say that Robin loved him more than life itself, to do all the things a dad was supposed to…but that he couldn’t bare to hear himself be called that?

Yes, Robin was “Dada”. He just had to hope that wherever he was…Neal was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts or questions for this verse, whether on here or my Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic). :)


	9. Miscommunication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Regina talk about their sex lives, or lack thereof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated M. I would say this is where the real meat of the story begins.

Robin walked through the door, quietly shutting it behind him so not to wake Henry upstairs. He noticed the light on in the kitchen and went inside, finding Regina sitting there drinking a cup of tea. She looked up at him, took in his face and pushed herself out of her chair.

“You look like you need something a lot stronger than tea.”

Robin let out a tired laugh, shaking his head. “You could say that.”

She went to the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of scotch. Pouring out some for each of them, she set it down on the island and he picked it up, knocking it straight back.

“Pace yourself there,” she warned, as she slowly nursed her own.

“What’s the point? Life’s too short.”

“Bad date?”

“You could say that.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t want to bore you…”

“Trust me, I’m all ears.”

Robin dropped down onto the stool, as he recounted the night’s events. Merida had thought it would be nice to set him up with an old college buddy of hers. Layla had been nice at first, but as time went on, it became clear that they had zero in common. She was the complete opposite of Robin and normally he liked that, but when he mentioned that he was a father and the whole situation, she couldn’t have gotten out of there fast enough.

Regina smiled sympathetically, pouring them each a bit more of the scotch. “Would it help if I told you I had a date do the same to me a couple of weeks ago?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I guess saying that you live with your child’s co-guardian, it doesn’t exactly go over well with the cute lawyer set.”

Robin sighed, massaging his temples. “I get it, and of course I’d rather have someone in my life that wants him too…it’s just been awhile.”

“Oh, I feel you there.”

He nodded. “How long’s it been for you?” He asked, taking a slow sip this time so he could savor it.

“Not since my divorce, actually.”

“Your divorce?”

“I was married before. Didn’t you know that?”

“No, I didn’t. What happened?’

“We just…weren’t the right fit.”

Robin wanted to pry, but from the look on Regina’s face, he could tell that she wasn’t feeling up to going down that path. A part of him thought about arguing, he had told her about his past after all, but at the end of the day, she didn’t owe him anything.

“I haven’t had any since about a month before Neal and Emma died,” he said.

“Really?”

“Really. Even if the dates go well, I’m normally too exhausted between work and everything else.”

He looked over at Regina, who was swishing her drink back and forth. She had kicked off her heels and taken her hair down, her teal blouse stained with some of Henry’s mashed potatoes. Even so, one could never say that Regina Mills wasn’t beautiful. He had been attracted to her on their one and only date, before everything went horribly wrong. Over the past few months, they had gotten a hell of a lot closer as they bonded over Henry.

It took him a moment to realize that she was taking him in too. He was a bit more dressed up than usual, a brown sweater and some khakis, his hair actually tamed. Normally it was the opposite, him looking a bit disheveled while she seemed to walk right out of an Ann Taylor catalogue. It still didn’t matter, she was beautiful, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Maybe it was the scotch or perhaps the feeling of needing someone, but he didn’t pull away when she leaned in for a kiss. Her intoxicating floral perfume filled his nostrils and he pulled her closer, deepening it some more.

_You’re not ready for something like this_ , his brain tried to tell him. _You can’t get serious with her and you can’t ruin things either. She’s co-parenting with you._

Robin pulled away, their faces just inches apart, the clear smell of alcohol on both of their breaths. “Regina,” he whispered. “If we do this…I’m not ready for…it can only be…”

“Do you want to talk or do you want to have sex?”

She began to unbutton her top and any thoughts of him trying to clarify things with her went out the window. She knew what this was, obviously. He couldn’t have been alone in that. This was a one time thing, a way to get everything out of their system. Then they could resume their relationship as normal.

They alternated between kissing, undressing and heading up to her room. He lifted her into his arms, before placing her gently on the bed. He straddled her and she began to kiss his neck, sucking on the skin to leave a clear trace of evidence of their night together. A sinking realization filled him as her mouth drifted back up to his cheek.

“I don’t have anything…”

“I’m on the pill, we’ll be fine.”

Wiping that thought from his head, he dipped her back into his arms to let it be his turn to kiss her skin. He unhooked her black bra, cascading it to the side and getting a good look of the beauties that awaited him. He moved his tongue across the left one, listening to her let out a moan. She sat up a bit so she could grip onto his hair as his fingers moved south. Her own, were messing up the perfect ‘do he had managed before leaving the house earlier that night.

Her underwear was the next to go, falling in a tasteful heap on the ground beside her slacks. They were both naked, vulnerable and on full display for one another. There was no going back from this and neither of them wanted to.

Regina reached over to the nightstand, fumbling around for a bit one handed. He looked over and watched as she tossed a vibrator to the side without looking and then grabbed hold of some lubricant. She squirted some onto her palm, before working up his cock, the grip felt better than a woman’s had in quite some time.

He was hard as he slipped inside of her, causing her to moan once again. Robin never would’ve pegged her for that type, but each decibel just seemed to make him grow harder, which only made her moan louder. His mouth formed an O at how wet she had gotten just from the brief trip up the stairs and the little foreplay they had leading up to the big moment.

“Holy fuck!” Her hand flew over mouth, realizing that the sleeping 1 year old was not too far away.

“I could say the same,” he teased back.

“You are such a brat.”

“I’m not…” He grunted. “The one who…got this wet.”

“That doesn’t make me a…” She bit her lip to suppress another loud moan. “A brat. It makes me excited.”

Robin grinned, gripping onto her bare shoulder blades. He was almost there and he could definitely feel it.

“Do you want me to…”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

Another few moments past before it felt like the floodgates flew open, he was grateful that he had been able to hold it off for so long. She came not long after he did, the two of them leaving the sheets a terrible, sticky mess.

They laid side by side, not saying a word as their chests rose and fell synchronously. Her hand fumbled over to his and grabbed hold of it.

“Wow,” she mumbled. “I had no idea you could…”

“Trust me. I didn’t see that coming from you either.”

“That was worth the wait.”

“You could definitely say that.”

Robin pulled Regina closer and her head fell against his bare chest. She looked up at him, with something about her. Her mouth opened to say something, when a cry rung out from down the hall.

“Henry,” Robin whispered.

“He normally doesn’t wake up anymore.”

Robin hopped out of bed, pulling up his boxers before walking down the hall. “I’ll go check on him.”

Regina stared after him, thinking about her night before Robin had come home. She had spent it looking over the few photo albums they had created since they became a family, thinking about how far they had come in such a short period of time. She couldn’t believe she felt something inside of her for this man, one she had once thought was nothing but a jerk. Regina had been wrong. This was a man that cared deeply for his ex and helped her get sober. He was an excellent co-parent and it was clear just how much Henry adored him.

She was falling for Robin Locksley and clearly, he was doing the same, at least in her mind. She hadn’t expected things to go so far the first night, but they’d have time to talk about it.

And when they did, oh how she’d wish she hadn’t interrupted him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next update will be soon, I promise. There's a prompt for Prompt Party that I feel fits this verse, so we'll get Robin & Regina's "after morning talk" during that week.
> 
> Feel free to send me prompts or questions for this verse, whether on here or my Twitter/CuriousCat (justanoutlawfic). :)


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